Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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(Today’s Book Installment)
The One True Church
Chapter 33 – The Importance of the 1st-Century Apostasy
As the New Testament describes how Old Testament prophecies of Messiah were fulfilled, so the later writings of the New Testament describe how prophecies of a great falling away during the great tribulation, that were made in Jesus’ ministry and the earlier New Testament writings, were fulfilled. Such confirmations of the reliability of God’s prophetic word strengthen our faith in Him. But the fulfillment of the prophecies about apostasy in the last days of the church have an importance that goes beyond just this.
To appreciate the relevance of this apostasy in the New Testament church, we must begin by appreciating its massive scope.
Remember what Jesus said about the scope.
Matthew 24:10 “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.
The apostles may not have focused on that word “many” when Jesus spoke it. But once they began to experience it, I’m sure it reminded them of something He had said in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
Matthew 7:14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Recall also that five of the seven churches addressed in the book of Revelation were told that they needed to repent. And the two that weren’t were encouraged to continue withstanding the apostasy that was all around them…or else they’d also be on the wrong side of the kingdom when it arrived.
Take into consideration as well that antichrist was a spirit – not a single individual.
1 John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
Because antichrist was a spirit, it was producing many antichrists during this time period.
1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.
2 John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.
Up until this point in time, the apostles had done of a good job of keeping the churches in line. However, with the number of churches increasing from all their preaching, and the number of apostles declining with all the persecution, they were not able to hold off the apostasy that was engulfing the movement.
Decades before this crisis stage was reached, Jesus anticipated it…and said what would be done about it.
Matthew 24:22 “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
What makes the prophesied apostasy of the 1st-century church so important is that it is what Jesus described as the last visible sign that would occur before He would come invisibly in His invisible kingdom. And the widespread nature of the apostasy guaranteed that everyone concerned would see it – both those who experienced it and those of us who look back on it through the New Testament writings.
No one should have been caught off guard…but many were. And many still are.
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